Origin
Tuscany, specifically the wine-growing zones around Florence, Siena, and the Chianti classico area. The schiacciata all'uva is specific to the 2-3 weeks of the vendemmia in September-October — it is a deeply seasonal dish that has no out-of-season version.
Description
Schiacciata all'uva is the Tuscan autumn flatbread made during the vendemmia (grape harvest) with Sangiovese wine grapes pressed into a simple olive-oil dough sweetened with sugar and flavoured with rosemary. The grapes are both inside the dough and pressed onto the top before baking — the heat bursts them, their juice caramelises into the dough, and the seeds and skins create a texture and bitterness that balances the sweetness. It is eaten warm from the oven throughout the harvest weeks and nowhere else in the year.
The Thread
Flavour Context
The caramelised grape juice, the olive-oil bread, the sugar, and the rosemary create a flavour that is simultaneously bread, pastry, and wine — all the elements of Tuscan culture in a single bite. The tannin from the wine grape skins provides a bitter note that prevents the sweetness from becoming cloying. It smells of the harvest.